FastCheck Problems?

jaybea28309 · 24 Nov 2014, 06:03 PM

Is anyone else having problems with FastCheck this morning? I am getting errors on all my accounts:

24/11 10:00:46 SOAP Error 26
24/11 10:00:46 FastServices could not connect to FastMail.FM

J

Redcat29 · 24 Nov 2014, 09:43 PM

I'm having the same problem. This all started maybe 12 hours ago.

jaybea28309 · 24 Nov 2014, 10:28 PM

Must be a Fastmail change. I will raise a ticket.

toolio · 24 Nov 2014, 11:25 PM

Same problem for me

Ken7 · 25 Nov 2014, 01:34 AM

I have the same problem also
Thanks

jaybea28309 · 25 Nov 2014, 05:07 PM

According to Fastmail:

"FastCheck needs to make some changes to accommodate some changes in our system as a result of the move to fastmail.com. We have informed the developer of this, but this is a 3rd party product we don't control, so we have no way of knowing when, or even if, it will be updated."

Since it is years since FastCheck was last updated, I don't think that this is going to get fixed, so it might be time to say goodbye to FastCheck.

toolio · 25 Nov 2014, 11:24 PM

That sucks. I have been using Fastcheck for what seems like forever. Gmail Notifier Pro can be made to work with Fastmail as an alternative. But I don't like it nearly as much.

toolio · 26 Nov 2014, 03:44 AM

Given my sentiment expressed above, can anybody recommend a better email notifier for use with Fastmail than Gmail Notifier? Going to greatly miss the ease and simplicity of Fastcheck if this isn't resolved.

walpurg · 26 Nov 2014, 07:12 AM

I edited the FastCheck executable to replace all hardcoded "fastmail.fm" addresses with "fastmail.com" and that seems to have done the trick. Replacing ".com" with ".fm" would have been quite trivial, but since what we need makes the strings longer, some of the references in the code to the following strings had to be adjusted as well. Fortunately, the compiler having aligned the strings with plenty of extra zeroes to spare made the whole thing fairly easy. (Note that I only changed the strings needed for program functionality, the GUI still has "Fastmail.FM" displayed throughout - fewer chances to get something wrong this way.)

I can post my modified version if there's interest and if the developer doesn't get around to fixing this problem soon. I'm sure there are enough software pros around here who could verify that the only changes in the file are indeed what I've described and there are no dirty tricks involved. Be aware, however, that I only use FastCheck to check my mail in a couple of folders, so it's possible that some other functionality may still fail or theoretically even mess something up. If you used the patched program, you'd do it completely at your own risk and I won't be providing any support or doing any more work on this.

I have to say, I don't really want to criticize the author of this program that I've found most useful for many years, but this need to disassemble and patch it could have been easily avoided by not hard coding the addresses and URLs

. After all, the program already uses the registry to store user settings...

EDIT: For whatever reason registration capchas aren't loading at all at the FastCheck.org forum so I can't register, so feel free to mention this option over there as well if you like.

odedp · 26 Nov 2014, 01:02 PM

Fastcheck doesn't work for me since Sunday

I user Gmail Notifier Pro as an alternative but would like to know if there's something else available...

jaybea28309 · 26 Nov 2014, 07:15 PM

It sounds like the developer, Eric Thiebaut, is working on a fix. Fingers crossed. Although there are alternatives, none of these are as lightweight and simple as FastCheck.

See the FastCheck Forum Discussion for more details.

William9 · 27 Nov 2014, 12:35 AM

Isn't Fastmail's instant notification of new email using the browser a satisfactory alternative?

Pfolson · 27 Nov 2014, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by William9

Isn't Fastmail's instant notification of new email using the browser a satisfactory alternative?

I haven't been able to use Fastcheck since switching to a Mac a few years ago, but I can think of several reasons why Fastmail's instant notification would not meet someone's needs. The first is a case like mine, where incoming mail is filed into many different folders. Since Fastmail only notifies for new mail in the inbox, that's a problem. (I have the same problem with the new mobile app as well. Inbox-only notifications makes it virtually unusable for me). The other issue is that for notifications to work, you have to have a Fastmail tab open in your browser. Some people do indeed keep a Fastmail tab open all the time. Others don't. For them, the notifications won't work.

In both of those cases, a notifier app like Fastcheck is a much better solution. Personally, I've missed that wonderful little app a lot since my Mac conversion.

William9 · 27 Nov 2014, 04:42 AM

If the developer of FastCheck doesn't come through, sounds as if Fastmail should develop something similar for its customers.

n5bb · 27 Nov 2014, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by William9

If the developer of FastCheck doesn't come through, sounds as if Fastmail should develop something similar for its customers.

Of course, they did, which I assume that the FastCheck developer Eric stopped development of his tool. It's the normal user interface, which immediately updates when a new message is received and can issue a Windows notification. If you want to read or compose messages in the classic interface there is nothing preventing you from using both.

Bill

24 Nov 2014, 06:03 PM	#1
jaybea28309 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 19	FastCheck Problems? Is anyone else having problems with FastCheck this morning? I am getting errors on all my accounts: 24/11 10:00:46 SOAP Error 26 24/11 10:00:46 FastServices could not connect to FastMail.FM J

25 Nov 2014, 11:24 PM	#7
toolio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 41	That sucks. I have been using Fastcheck for what seems like forever. Gmail Notifier Pro can be made to work with Fastmail as an alternative. But I don't like it nearly as much. Last edited by toolio : 25 Nov 2014 at 11:25 PM. Reason: missing word

26 Nov 2014, 07:12 AM	#9
walpurg Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 39	I edited the FastCheck executable to replace all hardcoded "fastmail.fm" addresses with "fastmail.com" and that seems to have done the trick. Replacing ".com" with ".fm" would have been quite trivial, but since what we need makes the strings longer, some of the references in the code to the following strings had to be adjusted as well. Fortunately, the compiler having aligned the strings with plenty of extra zeroes to spare made the whole thing fairly easy. (Note that I only changed the strings needed for program functionality, the GUI still has "Fastmail.FM" displayed throughout - fewer chances to get something wrong this way.) I can post my modified version if there's interest and if the developer doesn't get around to fixing this problem soon. I'm sure there are enough software pros around here who could verify that the only changes in the file are indeed what I've described and there are no dirty tricks involved. Be aware, however, that I only use FastCheck to check my mail in a couple of folders, so it's possible that some other functionality may still fail or theoretically even mess something up. If you used the patched program, you'd do it completely at your own risk and I won't be providing any support or doing any more work on this. I have to say, I don't really want to criticize the author of this program that I've found most useful for many years, but this need to disassemble and patch it could have been easily avoided by not hard coding the addresses and URLs . After all, the program already uses the registry to store user settings... EDIT: For whatever reason registration capchas aren't loading at all at the FastCheck.org forum so I can't register, so feel free to mention this option over there as well if you like. Last edited by walpurg : 26 Nov 2014 at 07:43 AM.

24 Nov 2014, 09:43 PM	#2
Redcat29 Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2	I'm having the same problem. This all started maybe 12 hours ago.

24 Nov 2014, 10:28 PM	#3
jaybea28309 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 19	Must be a Fastmail change. I will raise a ticket.

24 Nov 2014, 11:25 PM	#4
toolio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 41	Same problem for me

25 Nov 2014, 01:34 AM	#5
Ken7 Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 91	I have the same problem also Thanks

25 Nov 2014, 05:07 PM	#6
jaybea28309 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 19	According to Fastmail: "FastCheck needs to make some changes to accommodate some changes in our system as a result of the move to fastmail.com. We have informed the developer of this, but this is a 3rd party product we don't control, so we have no way of knowing when, or even if, it will be updated." Since it is years since FastCheck was last updated, I don't think that this is going to get fixed, so it might be time to say goodbye to FastCheck.

26 Nov 2014, 03:44 AM	#8
toolio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 41	Given my sentiment expressed above, can anybody recommend a better email notifier for use with Fastmail than Gmail Notifier? Going to greatly miss the ease and simplicity of Fastcheck if this isn't resolved.

26 Nov 2014, 01:02 PM	#10
odedp Master of the @ Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Tel-Aviv, ISRAEL Posts: 1,666	Fastcheck doesn't work for me since Sunday I user Gmail Notifier Pro as an alternative but would like to know if there's something else available...

26 Nov 2014, 07:15 PM	#11
jaybea28309 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 19	It sounds like the developer, Eric Thiebaut, is working on a fix. Fingers crossed. Although there are alternatives, none of these are as lightweight and simple as FastCheck. See the FastCheck Forum Discussion for more details.

27 Nov 2014, 12:35 AM	#12
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	Isn't Fastmail's instant notification of new email using the browser a satisfactory alternative?

27 Nov 2014, 04:42 AM	#14
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	If the developer of FastCheck doesn't come through, sounds as if Fastmail should develop something similar for its customers.